Main menu

Post navigation

I don’t do weekends…

When my husband takes off out on a Thursday or a Friday only to arrive a few days later, I often find myself in a love-hate relationship with the weekend:

1.Friday nights – everyone else is on a date with their pilot, while I sit at home alone.

2. Saturday – full of kids activities, rebellious attitudes, and the inevitable accident.

3. Sunday – I walk into to church by myself, putting on my “I’m blessed to be here” face for others. In reality, all I want to do is hide in my seat by the window and cry.

Please don’t think that all my weekends are like this cause, in all honesty, they are not.I do have some weekends that are full of fun with friends and family.Nevertheless, I will find myself flying into a weekend that wasn’t on my schedule.

A boot-kicking type of weekend

I have two boys. I love them to pieces but they are a challenge at times. So much so, most days feel like I’m in constant turbulence with them.

A few years ago the boys were outside playing with nerf guns.Harmless fun, right? Not with my two.Within 30 minutes, their fun of shooting each other had turned into a battle to see who could break the other’s gun first.

I could only watch from my kitchen window and wonder what my pilot would say if he were here.I glanced at the clock – it was only 10 am!

Later that afternoon, I asked my oldest son to mow the lawn.By his attitude and behavior, you would have thought I’d asked him to mow 10 acres with a push lawn mower. Every so often he would come inside dying of thirst or be complaining the mower wasn’t working.

At that point, I was ready to throw off the black suede boots I was wearing that day and hit the call button to kick some bootie!

On weekends like this, I’ve found that my black suede boots support me in the “tuff” areas of walking, standing, and protecting myself when my pilot is gone.

Need some suede protection

We’ve all had the unexpected happen when our husbands are away: sick kids, broken pipes, the family dog attacked by a raccoon or a boat hanging ever so slightly off the lift.

While those situations weren’t funny at the time, I can laugh at those incidents now.If you’re like me when those things happen, you may want to pack up your black suede booties in a bag and scoot off into the sky.

Honestly, though, I wouldn’t change one bootie.I have three different ones for flights such as these:

Slip-on for easy access for whatever flies my way

Lace-upswhen I need strong support

Open-toe booties for when my husband is coming home

Adapting to my husband leaving is not easy, even after all these years.I may take off wearing one style of bootie and immediately put on a different one.But that’s the life of a pilot’s wife.

When my husband flies off I have to plan and prepare, ‘cause I’m up against far more than I can handle on my own. Although I get to pick out which shoe I choose to wear when my pilot’s gone, ultimately I needGod to show me how to protect my feet.

That’s why I love this verse in the bible, ”….for shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”Ephesians 6:15 (NLT)Our shoes are never a mistake. We buy them and wear them for whatever season we are in to handle any malfunction that may occur while our pilot’s on duty. Our shoes provide us with the traction we need for those difficult times/days/moments. When we put on black suede booties we find an anchor for our faith.

If you think about it, suede’s a delicate material. It stains easily, and it’s hard to get rid of scuff marks – kind of like the stress we PWs endure when we’re flying solo. In addition, it’s not the best fabric to withstand rain either – similar to the tears we shed as we face the struggles we encounter on the weekends.

However, if you were to put a protectant spray on your shoe, in the form of God’s covering, and lightly brush them with prayer and God’s Word, then your suede boots will last longer.And so will you, my friend.

Without that hope, we’d find ourselves heading out the door without anything covering our feet! Then where would we be?

Something happens when I wear black suede booties. I become more aware of the way I walk and act. Yes, there will be some turbulence and rough patches. However, I’m able to take the controls of my day and pray that I won’t experience engine failure.